One man's attempt to break free from his perceived limitations, (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) to accomplish his goal of running a Full Marathon in 2008, to celebrate 40 yrs on this earth...

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Rebirthing...the year of the "Half"

Well...here we are again. It's been a while since posting. I am disappointed, and have been distracted, but I've come to a realization...

As I read the past posts, I am saddened at how much further I could be right now...but the "half" has gotten in the way...

"Half-hearted" attempts to change..."Half-steppin", hoping the goals I've set would be met..."Half-way through 2007, and still circling the mountain...

Again, the cares of life have crept in. Pressures of life, work, and family. Excuses upon excuses...this has been the year of the half...but no more!

I have still been running...but only half-way attempts, no focus or drive...less than 9 miles a week.I have still been trying to watch what I eat...HALF of the time!But it's half-way through 2007, and I cannot continue on this path and expect any sort of accomplishment to be met. Time to get back on the path I laid out in the very first post.

I'd like to thank a person I've never met, but stumbled across his blog yesterday. I believe it was an answered prayer. We all "lose our way" sometimes...an I was searching for an answer, hoping for inspiration, and I found it at http://www.roadtoboston.com/

Derek, if you ever read this blog...THANK YOU!!!

I've gotten a renewed sense of hope, and dreams have been awakened. This year was plaugued with injuries and set-backs, but this year is not over! It's the year of the half! In reading the blogs on Derek's site, I found the motivation to get out of this rut and back on the road. This November 6th, I will turn 39. I cannot allow myself to continue as I have. There are still 6 months left in 2007.New goals for 2007 are as follows:

Get back on track with my running program

Sign-up for the Philadelphia Half Marathon Nov 18th, 2007

Build up to 20 mpw

Follow 1/2 Marathon Training Program

Update running log daily

Track EVERYTHING I eat daily on Fitday.com

Try to maintain a 1,000 cal deficit

Complete the Philadelphia Half Marathon

Weigh 175 on Dec 31st, 2007

Long Term Goals:

Be in the best shape of my life when I turn 40, on 11/6/2008

Acheive a fitness level in which if I were still in the US Army, would allow me to pass the Army Physical Fitness Testwith an Average (or better) score for my age, which is:

54 Push-Ups in 2 min

57 Sit-ups in 2 min

2 Mile Run in 15 min 54 sec

This weekend is Father's Day (6/17)...Exactly Four months from this Sunday is the Philadelphia Half Marathon (11/18). This weekend, I plan to lay out my new running program and diet. I want to be around for my kids, and I want these years to be active and productive as well.

As of today, there has been a shift. Today, I weigh 235lbs. Today, I ate 4 donuts before 9am, and missed my run. Today I am ashamed at what I've allowed...it's time to re-write the script to something like this...

Today, I weigh under 200lbs. Today, I ran a Half-Marathon. Today, I am so proud of myself words cannot describe...

1 comment:

I'd like to wish you the best in your journey. Next week marks exactly 1 year since I started losing weight and running. I had just turned 38 (I turned 39 just this week) and like you, I wanted to be in the best shape of my life by 40 which gave me 2 years.

As you saw from my blog, I lost 50 lbs by the end of 2006 and I've kept it off.

I'm currently training for the Chicago marathon in Oct and I'm running over 40 miles per week.

I'm afraid I can't say what drove me to actually lose weight and keep running this time around. I have tried numerous times in the past, but I have never stuck with it for long nor had as much success. Maybe getting old was just the push I needed.

I'm happy to report that the last time I weighed what I weigh now was probably at least 25 years ago, if not longer. I can definitely say that I have never been as fit as I am now since I never played any sports seriously in the past.